2025 Calcutta Football League Premier Division
thebeautifulgame
Durgapur,India31030 Points
Football fever is about to commence with the start of Calcutta Football League 2025 (CFL). The 127th season of the CFL kicks off on June 25, with BSS Sporting Club taking on Kalighat Milan Sangha in the opening match. A league steeped in tradition and fierce local pride, this season promises not only old rivalries and underdog stories but also a new wave of tactical intrigue and emerging talent. Matches will be played across iconic grounds, including Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Rabindra Sarobar Stadium, Kalyani Stadium, and the historic Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay Stadium in Barrackpore.
Group A : Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Measurers Club, Kalighat SLA, Suruchi Sangha, Railway FC, BSS Sporting, George Telegraph, Calcutta Customs, Kalighat MS, Pathachakra, Army Red, Police AC.
Group B : Diamond Harbour, Mohammedan SC, Sreebhumi SC, Calcutta Police, Wari AC, United Sports, Bhawanipore fC, Asos Rainbow, Aryan Club, Kidderpore SC, United Kolkata SC, Southern Samity, Peerless SC.
The format of the tournament remains the same as the previous season, with a total of 26 teams being divided into 2 groups, with 13 teams in each group. After a single leg round robin, the top three teams from each group will enter the Super Six which will be the championship round. The bottom three teams from both the groups would participate in the relegation round. Local giants East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting and I-League II champions Diamond Harbour FC remain the favourites, but teams like Railway FC, Peerless SC, United Sports and Bhawanipore FC would be looking to give them a run for their money.
While India’s football spotlight often shines on the ISL or I-League, the Calcutta Football League remains the heartbeat of domestic football tradition. It’s where tactical minds are tested, young careers are launched, and rivalries are reborn. With 2025–26 shaping up to be fiercely competitive, fans can look forward to tactical duels, historic derbies, and unpredictable storylines across Kolkata’s legendary grounds.
Matches will be live streamed on SSEN website & app.
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https://www.kolkatafootball.com/ifa_cfl_premier_league_2025/premier_fixture.html
June 27: East Bengal 7-1 Measurers Club
https://forum.indianfootballnetwork.com/discussion/comment/307073#Comment_307073
Sorry, could not find the names of the players except the goalscorer Andy Zakhari and the captain Chattu Mondal
CFL begins with razzmatazz, EB win, MB lose — but 2024 title still awaits a winner
The 2025 Calcutta Football League (CFL) began like a blockbuster. The inaugurations exhibited an IPL-esque razzmatazz with lasers, fireworks display and confetti, in the opener East Bengal thrashed Measurers Club 7-1 and on Monday, Mohun Bagan suffered a 0-1 defeat to Police AC.
But there is a glitch as the ghosts of last year still haunt the pitch. No one knows who won the CFL last year as the winners of the previous edition are yet to be declared.
A court order, following a legal dispute involving Diamond Harbour FC, has put the 2024 title decision on hold.
East Bengal, by most accounts and points, should have been champions of 2024. Yet, a courtroom stay, fuelled by a scheduling dispute with Diamond Harbour FC, has left the league in an unprecedented limbo. Neither a winner was named nor was any closure provided.
TMC heir apparent and MP Abhishek Banerjee founded Diamond Harbour FC in 2022 with the intention of providing exposure to promising footballers.
“Within a couple of years we hope to qualify for the Premier A or B. We are confident of reaching greater heights within four-five years. If needed, we will also make a foray into ISL,” the TMC general secretary had said.
The club, coached by Kibu Vicuña and once serious title contenders, had failed to appear for their crucial match against East Bengal in February last year, citing a scheduling clash with the I-League second division. Their appeal for a reschedule was rejected, prompting them to take the matter to court.
“It appears, at first glance, that Diamond Harbour FC were not given a fair opportunity to play the match, which could be seen as an infringement of their right to participate,” the Judge observed.
The league’s final standings, and the official crowning of its champion, have since been frozen in time.
CFL, which started in 1898, is the oldest league football competition in Asia and started the same year as the Serie A began. Organised by the Indian Football Association (IFA), it has been a crucial platform for Bengal’s footballers for over a century.
Now the CFL is not just a tale of a missed match or an unscheduled fixture. It is about what happens when a league, a legacy, and a local football ecosystem begin to buckle under mismanagement.
“It is disheartening for the budding footballers,” former Indian national team captain Arnab Mondal told The Telegraph Online. “For the grassroots talents, CFL is the only platform to showcase their skills and grab opportunities to play for bigger clubs, in tournaments like the ISL.
But in this situation, they are slowly losing motivation. Other legacy tournaments have already shut down.”
“During our time, I’ve never seen such a case,” he added. There was one instance when a match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan was suspended due to a team no-show. But never anything of this scale.”
That scale, this time, encompasses more than just the East Bengal–Diamond Harbour fiasco. The 2024 edition has been marred by a series of crises that would put even the most chaotic leagues to shame.
Match-fixing and suspensions
Two clubs, Tollygunge Agragami and Wari AC, were handed interim suspensions over match-fixing allegations stemming from the 2023 season. The complaints, flagged by global watchdog Sportradar, forced the IFA to involve the city police and send the matter to Lalbazar’s criminal investigation wing.
Officials named in the complaint include Subhodeep from Tollygunge and Amitabha Ganguly and Micky Fernandez from Wari AC. Both clubs are barred from any competitive football until investigations conclude.
Points, politics and the ‘son of soil’ rule
The ‘son of soil’ mandate, a new rule requiring clubs to field at least four Bengal-born players at all times, caused a flashpoint in the title race. Mohammedan Sporting was found guilty of violating the rule during a match against East Bengal, and the IFA awarded all three points to the latter, despite the match ending in a 2-2 draw.
The move set off a chain reaction. Shrachi Sports, both an investor in Mohammedan and a commercial partner of the IFA, sent a letter threatening to end their deal with the governing body if the decision wasn’t reviewed.
Diamond Harbour FC, East Bengal’s closest rivals at the time, protested by pulling out of the title round.
The IFA backpedalled, tweaking the decision and imposing a Rs 50,000 fine on Mohammedan instead. But the damage was already done.
All these led the CFL to spill over into February this year, well past its September finish.
IFA chairman Subrata Dutta admitted: “This is not a good advertisement for football,” and pointed to scheduling chaos and poor communication.
Beyond a trophy
The league has featured legendary rivalries between clubs like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, and Mohammedan Sporting, and has played a key role in shaping Indian football before the rise of national tournaments like the I-League and ISL.
Now the erosion of prestige, declining crowds, overlapping commitments, and administrative paralysis reflect the broader decay in India’s state-level football governance.
Once a vibrant scouting ground and a launchpad for national careers, the CFL now stands as a cautionary tale.
“This is the only league left for Bengal’s footballers to rise through the ranks,” Mondal said. “When even this is marred by uncertainty, where do they go next?”
https://www.telegraphindia.com/sports/football/cfl-begins-with-razzmatazz-eb-win-mb-lose-but-2024-title-still-awaits-a-winner/cid/2110717
Mohun Bagan SG VS Police AC Highlights